Project CARS

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 502 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 305 out of 502
  2. Mixed: 101 out of 502
  3. Negative: 96 out of 502

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  1. TwoEars
    May 7, 2015
    7
    Little bit disappointed with how career mode works, the lack of regular cars and also the lack of upgrades and customisation. I wanted and was expecting something along the lines of Gran Turismo for the PC but with better graphics and more crips handling. But it's not that kind of game.

    You can jump straight into any car you want and if you want to start racing in Formula 1 you can do    Little bit disappointed with how career mode works, the lack of regular cars and also the lack of upgrades and customisation. I wanted and was expecting something along the lines of Gran Turismo for the PC but with better graphics and more crips handling. But it's not that kind of game.

    You can jump straight into any car you want and if you want to start racing in Formula 1 you can do that... all races, championships and cars are unlocked.... and like I said there are no upgrades (but lots of settings of course). The game also focuses quite heavily on racing cars, there are very few to no normal cars. It's pretty much all racing specials and historic racing cars. I don't know... the whole experience feels kind of cheap to be honest... I took the McLaren P1 for a spin and then it's like... now what do I do? I already have the best "real world car" in the game, I can't customize it and I'm not really that into racing lap after lap just for the sake of racing.

    Some people (simulator fans) may like this game, the graphics and gameplay are very good. But for me as a car enthusiast coming from Gran Turismo it's just not what I was expecting. I was hoping this would be like Gran Turismo for the PC but it's not that kind of game. I really wanted to start from the bottom and work my way up and build and customize my garage along the way but the game isn't designed for that. Maybe in the future they can build the game that I was hoping this would be.    … Expand
  2. MingoJingo
    Jun 24, 2015
    6
    Right now, wheel support is terrible. I can't comment on how well the game plays with a pad, I have a wheel and it should play properly with a wheel. It's a racing simulator right!

    No matter how many tweaks I've applied from various sources it's not possible to get it right. You feel disconnected from the road surface, FFB is inconsistent. You hit a car and nothing, you go over a kerb    Right now, wheel support is terrible. I can't comment on how well the game plays with a pad, I have a wheel and it should play properly with a wheel. It's a racing simulator right!

    No matter how many tweaks I've applied from various sources it's not possible to get it right. You feel disconnected from the road surface, FFB is inconsistent. You hit a car and nothing, you go over a kerb and it's like an earthquake. Their is no discernible corning feedback, the game physics feel incomplete and it spoils the game. But besides this, vehicles seem ever so slightly disembodied from the road surface. Sort of hard to describe and you do get used to it, very noticeable when you play other racing sims and compare.

    I'm loathed to give this game a bad review as it has so much going for it in all other aspects, but it's massively flawed as a simulation. Cars do behave differently as you should expect, but driving just doesn't feel authentic and I don't even mean it's arcade-like, you just need to see for yourself and you'll understand.

    If you have a chance to try Assetto Corsa and compare the same car and track then it becomes very clear. Assetto Corsa have nailed the physics, but Project Cars crucially has not. I'm using Assetto Corsa as a comparison, but even driving sims from years back are superior to Project Cars in this respect.

    The professional reviews are all skewed as they all rushed their editorial to hit the day of release, fell for the shiny graphics and failed to really get a feel for the game. If SimBin manage to fix these flaws then it will be the awesome game it's meant to be. Until then be warned, below the beauty lies some major gameplay flaws.    … Expand
  3. minix2poo
    Jul 1, 2016
    7
    Fantastic graphics, combined with very realistic driving physics.

    The problem for such a casual racing game player like me is, that it is really hard work to keep your car on the track.
    So as long as you aren't a hard core racing game player, I would play other titles than this one.
  4. aka2k
    Jun 15, 2015
    5
    Don't believe the most excited reviews on this page: they are either product of a player with very little knowledge of racing sims or simply fanboys of the game. And they really do a disservice by being way too excited. The game is not great, but it's not bad either.

    Don't trust those saying the game have the best FFB ever, it's flat out a lie. I was a junior member, played the game for    Don't believe the most excited reviews on this page: they are either product of a player with very little knowledge of racing sims or simply fanboys of the game. And they really do a disservice by being way too excited. The game is not great, but it's not bad either.

    Don't trust those saying the game have the best FFB ever, it's flat out a lie. I was a junior member, played the game for over 3 years (give it or take it) and I know it very well. FFB is one the worst out of the box and to this day I still haven't found the right setup with my Logitech wheel. The game is riddled with annoying, show stopper bugs. The graphics aren't great - except for lightning and weather - and they are really badly optimized. Steer clear if you own an AMD and are not sure if it'll run the game ok. Worst yet about the graphics, it looks weird. Some cars are well done, but most others just off proportions and strange to look at. Rain effects on the windshield is cartoonish at the best.

    The physics... it's another mixed bag. Some cars are fun to drive (Escort MK1, for example, quite a joy) but most others have an unfinished feel (Mercedes DTM, some of the worst physics I've seen in a game calling itself a sim). Nonetheless, can be enjoyable if there's no show stopper bugs while driving. But it's by far not the revolution most fanboys say it is. Not at all. It's a passable racing game, like a NFS Shift with a little more feel. Nothing special.

    The worst technical offender is probably the sound though. The worst sound I've ever heard from a racing game. It's loud, almost deafening loud on the engine. Every car sounds like their engine is straining so hard, like it's about to blow. Awful. And everything else sounds canned or is inaudible (windshield wipers are almost silent, for example).

    Yet, we are not on the worst part: the community. They are mostly zealots, probably backers or just stupid, bashing anyone who doesn't profess his love and faith for the game, SMS and Ian Bell. Beware if you are buying this game for multiplayer.

    After all this, would I recommend this game? Yes if it's on sale. With a generous discount on the price tag it's well worth it. It's an average game with some good moments every now and then. There are much better options around to justify going for this one on full or next to full price: Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2 and - heck - even console stuff like Gran Turismo and Forza series.    … Expand
  5. inter886
    May 21, 2015
    6
    Great graphics that is it. I am really disappointed with this game and Slightly Mad shift series developers, no street cars, no engine upgrades, no body-kits its boring more like F1 game.

    SLIGHTLY MAD..WE NEED SHIFT 3.
  6. RichyBayer
    May 26, 2015
    5
    This is a super game but unfortunately not a simulator, it's not a challenge and boring. Project Cars is a Toca Race with new graphics :( It will be nice decoration in my shelf.
  7. YoloSwag4Doge
    Jun 20, 2015
    6
    This game can be looked at both ways really.

    Amazing graphics, (nuff said). Challenging, yet rewarding handling. Or, challenging to the point of severely frustrating. If you're not into realism then having to repeatedly tap the accelerator or use manual transmission to avoid spinning out will just piss you off. Plus, while the cars certainly do go incredibly fast, the speed you need    This game can be looked at both ways really.

    Amazing graphics, (nuff said).

    Challenging, yet rewarding handling. Or, challenging to the point of severely frustrating. If you're not into realism then having to repeatedly tap the accelerator or use manual transmission to avoid spinning out will just piss you off. Plus, while the cars certainly do go incredibly fast, the speed you need to pull off a lot of the tight turns feels like you're a snail stuck in mud. Not very epic. But realistic.

    Highly in-depth customization as far as tire pressure, force feedback, pit stop strategies, etc. But... if you're like me you just don't care or have any inclination to fine tune stuff like your brake duct.

    Everything is unlocked. Awesome! Unless you like unlocking stuff...

    The game is meant to be played clean, but it's perfect for playing dirty. It doesn't take much to spin someone out or simply ram them from behind into some obscure oblivion off the track. And no one is better at it than the AIs. Sure, it's unintentional, (I think). But when you're cutting tight turns on the inside and you're constantly surrounded by 13 AI cars. Well, one of these turns you're going to be spinning in circles while cussing at your TV. The simplest solution to this is to master a track, come first in the qualifying round and proceed to first place your way around the track as if no one else is on it. But then, why bother playing with any AIs on it? Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly feasible to pull off some clutch breaks through the ranks. Just saying though. When one bad spin out, caused by a rear ending AI screws you over for the rest of the race it kind of sucks.

    Lots of maps. Lots of cars.

    Bottom line though is. Unless you're really into the style of driving this game gets stale pretty quick.    … Expand
  8. eclap
    May 7, 2015
    5
    Decent game. Gripes... Career is a no go due to bad AI. Online is a no go because it's either full of AFK hosts or people who can't keep it on the road.

    So, the only 2 options are either hot lapping or joining a league. I expected a lot more from a "finished product"
  9. Pepefromage
    May 11, 2015
    5
    I've played a couple of hours in fA championship career . The car has strange behanvior when sliding in corner. I'm a f1 fan so i did not tried other cars. I managed to seting up my fanatec wheel and it work well. The graphics are good at high setings with 60 fps all the way . I have a 4way SLI system with 3 screens and the game make good use of my 4 cards. The AI did not seem so bad imo.I've played a couple of hours in fA championship career . The car has strange behanvior when sliding in corner. I'm a f1 fan so i did not tried other cars. I managed to seting up my fanatec wheel and it work well. The graphics are good at high setings with 60 fps all the way . I have a 4way SLI system with 3 screens and the game make good use of my 4 cards. The AI did not seem so bad imo. The lack of coop championship is a big miss.A good advice: buy Assetto forza . its better than this, and at a lower price. If u want a good multiplayer gameplay with f1 cars :buy f1 serie from codemaster! Personaly i prefer f1 2013 wich i play online in coop mode. The damage system is less impressive than in project cars but i prefer beeing on the track more often than in pits for repairs. If u want just driving fun :buy dirt 2 . But if u want to setup cars and you re a car freak who like tuning a lot and have 60 buck to lose: buy project cars!… Expand
  10. titoyolo
    May 15, 2015
    5
    The trouble with this is, if any of you have played multiplayer on iRacing or tried out AC's AI, Project Cars gives you either completely nonsensical and insane AI to irritate you to the limit, but still does nothing to increase the overall difficulty of winning the race, or if you reduce difficulty of AI to 99%, you leave them behind in your dust easily, this is a piece of cake comparedThe trouble with this is, if any of you have played multiplayer on iRacing or tried out AC's AI, Project Cars gives you either completely nonsensical and insane AI to irritate you to the limit, but still does nothing to increase the overall difficulty of winning the race, or if you reduce difficulty of AI to 99%, you leave them behind in your dust easily, this is a piece of cake compared to Assetto Corsa. The multiplayer is filled with refugees from Forza and GT who still thinks crashing and cutting corners are the way professionals race. SMS tried to please too many people, this game is a love and hate, 50/100 for me.… Expand
  11. ireviewthings1
    May 8, 2015
    7
    As a racing game 8-10
    - lots of tracks
    - wide variety of cars - great graphics, sound, effects - handling with a controller by far isn't as refined as forza without aids - carrer mode is token but you have enough options to customize the challenge factor as a sim it is a 5-10 -tracks are not laser scanned. once you have been there, you can't come back from it. ask any guy who    As a racing game 8-10
    - lots of tracks
    - wide variety of cars
    - great graphics, sound, effects
    - handling with a controller by far isn't as refined as forza without aids
    - carrer mode is token but you have enough options to customize the challenge factor

    as a sim it is a 5-10

    -tracks are not laser scanned. once you have been there, you can't come back from it. ask any guy who has been on AC's nordschleife
    - cars lack the level of detail in there simulation due to the next point
    - physics are simply not good enough compared to Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Game Stock Car Extreme

    The problem with PCars is that you can't tell wether it want's to be a game or a sim. It tries to appeal to an audience as broad as possible and by that it isn't exactly what they are looking for both groups.

    It is basically like modern day Formula 1. Trying to please everyone and by that pleasing no one while having no real identity. And for you, once you know what you look for, there are always better options.    … Expand
  12. stradian
    May 19, 2015
    5
    Defective by design, This game was built on the Nvidia GameWorks. Typcially, a 780 and 780 ti ("high end" cards) completely trash a 960 ("middle" card), however, a 960 outshines these two cards. Users with high end AMD graphics cards are in the same boat. Nvidia and the project cars team has deliberately included a version of the nvidia middleware physx that can only be used by Nvidia 900Defective by design, This game was built on the Nvidia GameWorks. Typcially, a 780 and 780 ti ("high end" cards) completely trash a 960 ("middle" card), however, a 960 outshines these two cards. Users with high end AMD graphics cards are in the same boat. Nvidia and the project cars team has deliberately included a version of the nvidia middleware physx that can only be used by Nvidia 900 series cards. This effectily shuts out all but Nvidia's frequent buyers from having a reasonable experience. This is an attempt to coherise project cars customers to upgrade or switch to nvidia.

    This is a dangerous precedent. I was looking forward to this game, but I refuse to buy software that is designed to break on the competition's product.    … Expand
  13. VeRDe
    May 22, 2015
    6
    Lets start from the fact that this game supposed to be a racing sim with feature parity, content and quality like Forza or Gran Turismo.

    If this was the target, then in my opinion, they missed the target.. First of all because some cars behave just good and many other (especially the road cars) behave not even close to good. Physics are not in the "simulation" class by any mean.    Lets start from the fact that this game supposed to be a racing sim with feature parity, content and quality like Forza or Gran Turismo.

    If this was the target, then in my opinion, they missed the target..

    First of all because some cars behave just good and many other (especially the road cars) behave not even close to good. Physics are not in the "simulation" class by any mean. Physics are just acceptable for a racing title. Not for a simulation.. The worst of all is the wet physics. Its not even close to real.. I've driven in wet track in reality and I can assure you that this is not how a car behaves.

    Secondly the car list of this game is poor. Its poor in numbers in comparison to Forza and Gran Turismo and it is poor in choices too. Few cars are desirable. The rest is full to LMPs and fictional cars. The absence of Ferrari or Lamborghini cars is very bold too.

    Then, the way career mode was designed is totally wrong for me. There is no progress and no target. You just jump into any category you like and race. You can start from Formula A (Formula1-like) or LMPs right from the start of your career. Created to be boring in other words...

    Graphics are among the best you can find in PC, although they are not that exciting as the screenshots leaks were showing during development. In addition there are massive performance issues. On the other hand weather effects are impressive and generally car models are very accurate. Tracks are great but they are not laser-scanned as in Assetto Corsa.

    Sound is good but not perfect and the absence of some effects like tire squeal is making things worse. Just acceptable palette of sounds in this game.

    Last but not least, this game feels unfinished in so many terms. Some cars physics were built in less care than some others and bugs are everywhere. Just search the internet and you will find countless issues reported so far.    … Expand
  14. Gamble0025
    May 13, 2015
    5
    Project Cars has a lot to love, and a lot to hate. It is a sim racer that has a lot of potential to be a GT and Forza killer, but it misses its mark. The car models and environments are beautifully crafted, but suffers from screen tearing, drastic frame rate drops both PC and consoles, and even though I didn’t have this issue on my PC, my PS4 had an issue with some blurry models.

    There    Project Cars has a lot to love, and a lot to hate. It is a sim racer that has a lot of potential to be a GT and Forza killer, but it misses its mark. The car models and environments are beautifully crafted, but suffers from screen tearing, drastic frame rate drops both PC and consoles, and even though I didn’t have this issue on my PC, my PS4 had an issue with some blurry models.

    There are some major bugs in this game, the biggest I have encountered so far occurred only with 125CC Karts. That bug would make my car steer in the opposite direction I turned the wheel (or analog stick, tried it with both). Normally this would happen at the first turn of the race, and would be fixed by restarting the race. But for those people who have restarts turned off, this would be a game breaking bug.

    The sound is the worst part. Anyone that has two functional ears will hate this game. The game mixes samples from all nearby cars and plays the samples alternately (best way I could describe it). The result is weird sounding vibrating sound that makes absolutely no sense.

    This game has a lot of potential, and if they release some patches fixing the bugs, graphical issues, and sound…for the love of god fix the sound, it happens on both PC and console…how did this terrible sound make it to print?!?!...If they fix these issues the game would be an 8….but as it stands right now, I can’t in good conscience give it more than a 5. It is worth a play for the hard core sim racing crowd, but just wait until a price drop or patch 30 something hits.    … Expand
  15. Buccelus
    May 18, 2015
    6
    Great game for NVIDIA-users. Don't buy this game if you use AMD until it's optimized for AMD-rigs.
    Nice game modes, overall a lot of fun and great weather engine.
    I highly recommend reading user reviews on Steam of users with high play-time. The 80% recommendation is missleading, as most of the positives have 150h.
  16. Blaze76
    Jul 31, 2015
    7
    Let's be honest, PC doesn't have a lot of titles going for the 'User Friendly' kind of Sim racing game. Moreover, the developers have openly set their eyes on surpassing Gran Turismo and Forza. While I know these games don't exactly have the precise simulator physics that some high end PC titles have but no one can deny their fun factor. I personally haven't played a lot of Forza but I'veLet's be honest, PC doesn't have a lot of titles going for the 'User Friendly' kind of Sim racing game. Moreover, the developers have openly set their eyes on surpassing Gran Turismo and Forza. While I know these games don't exactly have the precise simulator physics that some high end PC titles have but no one can deny their fun factor. I personally haven't played a lot of Forza but I've been playing Gran Turismo for a long long time and so I will be basing this review in comparison to that because it's physics won't allow it to be compared to actual sims like iRacing, Rfactor, Assetto Corsa, etc.

    The Cars:
    The variety of cars available is probably the biggest weakness in Project CARS. I understand that they want to focus only on the purpose built race cars and only the cars that fit into the various classes that are featured in the game. Sure enough, a rally-spec Impreza or a JGTC R32 GT-R would be completely out of place in a game like this... but even in the given classes, there are usually only one or two cars to choose from. Just how is Ferrari not in the game? They don't make enough racecars for you? Gran Turismo may have had hundreds of JDM clones hidden in the roster but it still hands down destroys Project CARS in terms of variety.

    The Racing:
    I have to admit, I loved Gran Turismo's physics.. they were very fun to drive with and I was hooked for hours, knowing fully well that it may not be realistic but that doesn't mean it can't be fun. However, Project CARS physics are definitely more on the hardcore realistic side (Although not quite there yet). Project CARS takes this one.. as a sim, it is bringing the realism a bit more authentically. Still, I feel that it's very inconsistent.. the Karts in particular have **** physics and while some cars handle and work beautifully (That P1 maaan), some others have weirdly janky physics that just don't work. I'm sure they can patch this up though along with the car list without constantly pushing in DLC.

    The Courses:
    There's a very interesting selection of racetracks in this one, a lot that I haven't seen in Gran Turismo even. While I do enjoy the various original tracks and city circuits in GT, Project CARS boasts a better collection of authentic and prestigious race courses around the world. Again, it does lack the variety GT has along with the many more disciplines.

    The Sounds and Visuals:
    Gran Turismo has been well known for it's impressive graphics but it's no secret that the much more recent Project CARS surpasses GT6 in this field for sure. If you have a powerful enough machine, you can admire the fantastic models on the precious few vehicles in the game along with very life like lighting effects and reflections. The damage works better and is more convincing than GT at least. The Sound too is surely better than Gran Turismo engine sounds (Which they REALLY need to work on).

    Progression:
    Well.. there is none. No sense of progression whatsoever. I know, I know.. 'all we wanna do is go around and just enjoy setting fast laptimes~~'. Not everyone is satisfied with just that. A lot of modern racing games have this problem now actually. I enjoyed collecting money through the many different events that I normally wouldn't be bothered to try and then saving up to buy and drive a car that I desired. It always felt so great. GT gave me that and also the many many different themed challenges that were really fun to beat, very very exciting. However, while Project CARS does have a career, you get to start from any point.. you can literally just start from the LMP class cars and race a few generic seasons in your car of limited choice. It's really not very different from just picking a car and taking it out on a quick race a couple of times. The only difference being some boring 'emails' from your team after the race and some social media feed on the side which gets very repetitive and very annoying.

    Conclusion:
    There are two kinds of car people. The people who play the games to collect and admire all kinds of amazing cars that they love and the other people who care less about the car and more about the raw adrenaline of racing to the limit with precise inputs and mechanics while fine tuning every detail of the machine to get the best possible lap times. It's easy to guess which game caters to which kinda player.
    By no means is Project CARS a bad game. It's a brilliant game and all of the fun lies in the driving itself, which makes it strong as a racing game.

    I don't have a Playstation anymore, I only play on PC now so I was overjoyed when I learnt that someone out there is looking to outdo Forza and GT so I do want to like it. However, I hate to admit that I am really disappointed. It is surely a great racing game for the PC but it's not the Gran Turismo killer that they said it would be. I am a Gran Turismo fan and while I may be a bit prejudiced, I am the kind of person they need to convince.    … Expand
  17. sirgun
    Jan 10, 2016
    5
    I expect more from a Racing Game made in 2015. The Graphic could be better but thats not the problem. The controlling is horrable and unrealistic. But the game trys to give you that feeling. Fail! The Carreer is very boring. you start with cart racing and drive sometimes on the same tracks. later it becomes not more fun. The Tracks looks cold and dead and you dont really get the racing flow.
  18. GoodMorningAss
    Jan 29, 2020
    7
    Really good game, a lot of different interesting points, all sorts of configurations and other nuances. But as they say this game is not for me. I recommend perverts to play it
  19. Shimmeywill
    Mar 9, 2020
    5
    Despite the fantastic visuals and solid gameplay, the lacklustre content compared to other, larger budgeted racers made it hard to get into.
  20. PizzaSubCombo
    Oct 18, 2019
    6
    There's a genuinely good racing sim buried in here somewhere, but it's hurt by an overall lack of polish and questionable design choices. Menus are convoluted and confusing, the AI exhibits a lot of strange behaviors such as sporadically wandering completely off the track, and car setups are a nightmare to manage. Those who take the time to work around the game's issues will find a modernThere's a genuinely good racing sim buried in here somewhere, but it's hurt by an overall lack of polish and questionable design choices. Menus are convoluted and confusing, the AI exhibits a lot of strange behaviors such as sporadically wandering completely off the track, and car setups are a nightmare to manage. Those who take the time to work around the game's issues will find a modern re-incarnation of Race07, but my God there are a lot of issues.… Expand
  21. ChesterField
    May 8, 2020
    7
    Very good racing game. The bad news are the lack of content and cars. Still, recommended.
  22. Mazma
    Dec 25, 2020
    6
    Parlando chiaro. Senza bug il voto sarebbe circa 0, ma grazie alla loro tremenda frequenza e spassosita' si merita 6.
  23. littlecat_
    Feb 14, 2022
    6
    A lot of cars , beautiful but you never get your own . This is bad . The races are on long tracks , so i fall asleep while playing . You can adjust the difficulty , which is good . But the game is boring - cant buy own car , cant choose the car or its color . Despite the fact you can skip a part of the races , it s really boring .
  24. nfs7379
    Sep 4, 2022
    7
    7/10.......................................................................

Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Best PC Game of 2015
36
#36 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
58
#58 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 48
  3. Negative: 0 out of 48
  1. PCWorld
    Jan 20, 2016
    70
    The simulator aspects are co-opted and somewhat compromised by a desire to simultaneously appeal to the arcade racer crowd—without actually being an arcade racer.
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  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 8, 2015
    100
    Fantastically versatile Project CARS entertains both champions and festive drivers. It excites them with helpfulness, technology and dynamism, so only details could be reproached. [Issue#253]
  3. Worth Playing
    Jul 6, 2015
    86
    When it comes to the actual racing, the game gets top marks primarily because of how deep the handling model feels. It also does a fantastic job of giving the player every possible option to tailor his or her experience to their liking. However, everything outside of the racing, such as the career mode, is mere window dressing.
    Read full review
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